Nathalie Piquemal

Cultural loyalty: Aboriginal students take an ethical stance

This paper explores ways in which Aboriginal students from an Aboriginal school in western Canada take an ethical stance whereby they apply concepts of privacy and confidentiality when dealing with or storying cultural experiences in the school context. The question that guides this paper is the extent to which Aboriginal students choose to protect their cultural experiences from the formal school setting by taking an ethical stance through which they express their Aboriginality relationally and informally rather than explicitly. I suggest that this ethical stance is related to cultural loyalty as a way of living authentically and relationally in the world, which means living with, rather than enduring or living against, the complexities of today’s world. I argue that cultural loyalty has three voices: an ancestral voice, a relational voice and an ethical voice.

WHEN “HISTORY” HAPPENS TO RESEARCH: A TALE OF ONE PROJECT, TWO RESEARCHERS, AND THREE COUNTRIES IN A TIME OF GLOBAL CRISIS

In this article, we have examined how historical events shape the research process, even when research is carefully planned and rigorously executed. Through an examination of our experiences conducting international data collection during a three ‐ year SSHRC funded period in which the War on Terrorism and the War in Iraq began, we suggest that social context affects all aspects of every research project, from planning, to funding, to data collection, analysis, and dissemination. History, particularly significant world events, should be re ‐ examined and redefined so that it is no longer understood as a variable that affects poorly planned research, but rather as an integral part of the research design and process. Key words: international education, mixed methods, foreign language Dans cet article, les auteurs examinent comment les evenements historiques transforment le processus de recherche, meme lorsque la recherche est soigneusement planifiee et rigoureusement executee. Par le biais d ʹ une recherche subventionnee par le CRSH et au cours de laquelle commenca la guerre au terrorisme et la guerre en Irak, les auteurs font un examen de leur propre experience de la collecte de donnees internationales, faite durant une periode de trois ans. Ils suggerent que le contexte social influence tous les aspects de la recherche, de la planification jusqu ʹ aux resultats, de la collecte des donnees a leur analyse et a leur diffusion. Ils affirment que l ʹ histoire devrait etre reexaminee et redefinie de telle maniere qu ʹ elle ne soit plus consideree comme une variable mais plutot comme une partie integrante du plan directeur de la recherche et de son contenu. Mots cles: education internationale, methodes mixtes, langue etrangere

Educational experiences and opportunities in rural Cambodia: families and youth’s voices

ABSTRACT Using semi-structured interviews gathered from youth and families in rural Cambodia, this paper focuses on the specific social circumstances that affect parents’ abilities to support their children’s education, as well as on how youth and young adults make sense of their own educational experiences in a context shaped by economic hardships and by social legacies of the Pol Pot regime. Data analysis shows that while economic factors have a strong impact on children’s educational opportunities, other risk factors include social tensions such as the changing social value of education due to societal scars and schooling inequities. This paper concludes with recommendations for policy and practice.

Guardians of orphaned and vulnerable children in an NGO’s educational program in Ethiopia: Risk/protective factors and social mobility

This paper reports on the findings of a study conducted through semi-structured interviews with 16 guardians of orphaned and other vulnerable children enrolled in an NGO’s educational programs in Ethiopia, with special attention to the protective and risk factors, namely social, psychological, and economic enabling and disabling factors, that shape the lives of guardians who take care of orphaned and vulnerable children. Findings show that risk factors include social–psychological stressors, economic stressors, lack of educational opportunities, and gender issues related to the disempowerment of girls and women. Findings also show that protective factors include personal factors, mainly those associated with resilience and religion as an inner strength, as well as external factors, such as support from the NGO and support shaped by a reciprocity of care between guardians and their children. Following a discussion on issues related to gender as well as to intra-generational and inter-generational social mobility, implications for practice for NGOs and other organizations that work with vulnerable families are outlined. Recommendations include strengthening social awareness around the importance of educating girls, a strengthened support system for guardians, particularly that of an emotional nature, and a specific focus on adult literacy programs.